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South Florida is the state's most populous region, yet it has almost no political clout in the Legislature. Republicans control both houses and the governor's mansion, so the area's heavily Democratic delegations will face a fight for relevance when the legislative session gets underway on Tuesday. Their priorities, such as Medicaid expansion, more money for public education, expanding voter registration, changing sentencing laws for juvenile offenders and allowing judges more leeway around mandatory-minimum sentencing laws, face little chance of getting through. Instead, they expect to be fighting a defensive battle against bills that would curb abortion, expand gun...

Related "Medicaid" Articles

South Florida is the state's most populous region, yet it has almost no political clout in the Legislature.Republicans control both houses and the governor's mansion, so the area's heavily Democratic delegations will face a fight for relevance when the...

Cable and cellphone bills could be trimmed, the cost of textbooks cut, and testing in public schools reduced. Water and land policy may be overhauled, medical marijuana legalized, and beer and liquor laws loosened.
As state lawmakers gather Tuesday to...

Legally, Florida lawmakers must accomplish just one task during the annual two-month legislative session, which begins Tuesday in Tallahassee. They must pass a state budget.But given the pent-up issues facing Florida after last year's do-little,...

Florida lawmakers convening Tuesday for the start of the 2015 legislative session should resist the urge to cut taxes— particularly corporate taxes — given the likelihood of a $1 billion loss in federal money and research that shows businesses don't...

The potential loss of Low Income Pool dollars, and the lack of a plan to replace this program, will dramatically impact millions of individuals and families who are low income, among the working poor, as well as Medicare and Medicaid recipients throughout...

Gov. Rick Scott's budget proposal sprung a leak last week. A top federal health official said the Obama administration will no longer pony up $1.3 billion next year, which Scott had banked on, to extend a program that reimburses hospitals in Florida for...

Imagine getting out of bed with a fever but you don't want to go to a doctor's office.
"You pull up your iPad and actually see a doctor in your pajamas from your couch."
That's a possibility envisioned by state Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Jacksonville,...

A West Palm Beach woman was arrested Thursday after investigators said she stole almost $4,000 from the state by falsifying her time card.An investigator with the Florida Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit said that Lakeshia Ramsey, 31, worked...

Want to stay in your own home as you age? More seniors will have that chance through a little-known program that's expanding in South Florida.
The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, or PACE, uses Medicare and Medicaid dollarsfor services...

I was heading to my doctor's office in a medical arts building earlier this week when a gentleman got on my elevator. He boarded on the first floor and exited on the fifth as I continued upward. But he had a lot to say in those few seconds.
"Heading...

The Patient Protection and Affordability Act currently provides care for the uninsured through a combined state and federal program that is intended to protect patient access to care and, ultimately when all Americans are insured, be...

Blacks are hip to the "political lecture."
No, not the one about acting properly around law enforcement and trigger-happy policing. This particular bit of chastisement surfaces around election time when the political punditry starts bemoaning...

Making Florida more competitive means making tough choices — putting the long-term security of Florida's future ahead of short-term fixes. When it comes to fixing federal health care, we believe this situation is the proverbial of making lemonade out of...

Our state's patients are at risk as Florida's safety-net hospitals and other health care providers face a "perfect storm" of state and federal cuts. A loss of $2 billion per year is predicted to Florida's health care providers for the poor.
...

Florida health officials and lawmakers are facing a quandary over how to replace the likely annual loss of $1.3 billion in federal funds which compensate hospitals and providers that care for large numbers of uninsured and Medicaid patients.
The...

Florida health officials are failing in their role as stand-in parents for our most vulnerable children.
Three weeks ago, a state judge ruled that the Department of Children and Families is violating federal law by routinely failing to provide mental...

Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation early Wednesday raided a medical-supply company in Boca Raton with ties to Daniel Porush, a man who helped inspire a character depicted in the movie "The Wolf of Wall Street."
The company,...

It's that time of year again.
No, not the holiday season. I'm talking about Obamacare season.
In the second year of our new annual tradition, the exchanges are open for enrollment, which begs the question: What have we learned since last time? Were...

Children who have health insurance through Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program go further in school than children who are uninsured, according to a recent report.
Researchers from Cornell and Harvard have found that, compared with their...

Another health care company is being acquired in South Florida.
Health insurance giant Anthem of Indianapolis said Monday it agreed to buy South Florida's Simply Healthcare Holdings, which provides managed-care plans for Floridians, mainly in...